Slovenia has reached the knockout phase of a major tournament for the first time. Coach Matjaz Kek's team has sparked euphoria in the small country, which has now been rewarded with a place in the round of 16 against Portugal.
An extensive interview zone has been set up in the underground of the stadium in Cologne. Several stations are marked out with black tape. There is a podium on two sides, each with a microphone connected to loudspeakers. It is the setting that elicited the remark from German Thomas Müller that he felt like the German Chancellor.
The actual underground car park has been planned on a large scale to be able to withstand the onslaught of a large media crowd. On this Tuesday evening, however, a salon table would have sufficed as a meeting zone: it is a bizarre image that stands in stark contrast to the actual scope of what happened on the football pitch beforehand.
The lone duo
Slovenia drew 0-0 against England that evening. It is not a pretty game that will feature prominently in reviews of this European Championship. The Slovenians claimed a few lucky breaks, such as when Bukayo Saka's supposed 1-0 goal was disallowed for offside.
But they earned this one point, which secured them a place in the round of 16 as the fourth-best team in the third-placed group. For the first time ever in the history of the Slovenian association, the team did not have to return home after the preliminary round of a final tournament.
In this respect, what the small nation from Central Europe has achieved this evening is truly historic. In the interview zone, however, there is a yawning emptiness for a long time. Just two journalists have positioned themselves to listen in on the front line as one of their heroes describes what the national team has achieved. After a match involving the host nation Germany, the elbows occasionally have to be extended to catch a few words from the protagonists in the crowd, but the space in front of the Slovenian microphone is so comfortable that there are occasional doubts as to whether they are waiting in the right place at all.
Congratulations from two million people
But at some point, Matjaz Kek finally arrives. The 62-year-old coach is the master builder of this success. "I didn't necessarily expect us to get through the group stage," he says. But after the three draws against Denmark, Serbia and England, that's exactly what happened. "I'm extremely proud of this team. We've earned this success thanks to the solidarity among us."
Kek talks about what makes this team special. It is not full of superstars like the English have. Zan Celar from Lugano, a player from the Super League, is also part of the squad. However, a number of international players are active in the domestic league and are working on their dream of making the leap abroad at some point.
Like Jan Oblak, Jaka Bijol and Benjamin Sesko have done. The goalkeeper from Atlético Madrid, the central defender from Udinese and the striker from Leipzig form the axis of this team, which shines not through technical finesse, but primarily through passion. And thus makes the people at home happy.
Tens of thousands of fans support the team in Germany. Even against the traditionally vocal English, the Slovenians have nothing to hide and provide an impressive backdrop in the Cologne arena. "Two million people would probably like to congratulate us personally right now," says Kek, referring to the size of the country, which lends Slovenia's history a note of David standing up to seemingly overpowering Goliaths like England.
Kek's prophecy
"We are like the suburbs of a big city. We are small, but we have a big heart and a lot of mental strength," says Kek, who was Slovenia's national coach for four years from 2007 and qualified with the team for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. However, the former central defender does not want to compare or rank his successes as a coach. "Let's just enjoy the moment. I'm sure this is just the beginning of a beautiful era in Slovenian football."
As he rises from the podium, the chants of the Slovenian fans can still be heard from outside two hours after the final whistle. They are now moving on to Frankfurt, where the round of 16 match against Portugal on Monday (9 p.m.) will be the next chapter in their success story.
